Former 'American Idol' Contestant Caleb Flynn Found Guilty of Murdering Wife

Caleb Flynn once told American Idol viewers in 2013 that his wife had encouraged him to chase his singing dreams. On Tuesday, a jury in Miami County, Ohio, found him guilty of murdering her. Flynn, a 40-year-old former worship pastor, was convicted on all nine counts he faced: aggravated murder, multiple counts of murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence, according to NBC News and Billboard.

He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced on Oct. 5. The defense called no witnesses and argued that an intruder had killed her. Prosecutors built their case on more than 100,000 text messages Flynn exchanged with his mistress, Alleigha Botner, in the year before the killing.

In one message shown in court, Flynn wrote, "If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat," according to Rolling Stone. In another, he wrote, "I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally thinking of ways to kill her and not go to jail." Botner, who was a 20-year-old intern at Flynn's church when they met in 2022, testified for two days.

She said she had an affair with Flynn for about 18 months and that she now hates him "because I believe that he murdered his wife," according to BBC News and NBC News. A forensic examiner testified that Flynn's electronic devices recorded 196 steps in the hour before his 911 call, despite his claim to police that he had been asleep in his daughters' room when he heard gunshots, according to Rolling Stone. Prosecutors also noted that the 9mm handgun Flynn kept in his truck's center console was missing when police arrived, and no murder weapon has ever been found.

Defense attorney Patrick Mulligan told reporters after the verdict that the defense was disappointed and would appeal. "There's a lack of evidence on prior calculation and design," he said, according to Billboard. Ashley Flynn's family said in a statement read by prosecutors that the verdict brings "justice and accountability," but that "no verdict can bring Ashley back, give the girls back their mother, or erase the pain our family has endured," according to NBC News.